Little One
by AlphaWolf13
Summary: Kaoru's pregnant ex-girlfriend has been living with him even though he isn't the baby's father. With her due date approaching, Kaoru is perplexed to learn that she has yet to pick out a name. And what would happen if the baby were premature? R


**I'm back! I know, I haven't written for Ouran practically all summer. Sorry, I've been working on finishing multi-chapter fics (which I still haven't finished which raises the question, what am I doing writing a oneshot?). I wanted to write this fic because there are other fics that I have envisioned that require this one to be out first so here it is. Enjoy lots and leave a rewire PRETTY PLEASE!**

**Little One**

Nanami Tenoh awoke the morning of July twentieth to the smell of miso soup. For the past six and a half months, she had been staying with her ex-boyfriend Kaoru Hitachiin to be closer to the hospital downtown. Normally, such and arrangement probably wouldn't have worked out but it wasn't just the two of them. No, Kaoru and Nanami were sharing their two bedroom apartment in downtown Tokyo with a special houseguest – thirty-seven week old unnamed foetus Tenoh.

"Good morning Nanami," Kaoru greeted from his spot in front of the stove. He walked over to her side and knelt down, placing a hand on her enormous stomach. "And good morning to you too, Little One."

When Nanami had refused to learn the gender of her child, Kaoru had taken to jokingly referring to the child as Little One.

"Did you make soup?" Nanami wondered, sniffing the air curiously.

"I most certainly did," Kaoru replied, smiling brightly and pulling out a chair for Nanami at the table. As she sat, he brought her over a bowl of steaming soup. "I know that you really like it."

"Thanks, so much Kaoru," Nanami said, giving him a warm smile. "You know," she sighed. "I can take care of myself. Not that I don't appreciate your help, but you can sit down now."

"I don't mind," he argued.

"You've been on your feet as long as I've been off mine," Nanami giggled. "Sit!"

Kaoru grabbed himself a bowl of miso soup and reluctantly obeyed her.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked as they ate.

"Yeah, actually," Nanami replied honestly. "It's been easier to catch my breath these past few days, which is a nice change."

"And you still have no idea what you're gonna name the Little One?" Kaoru asked, incredulous. His parents had his and Hikaru's names picked out by week twenty.

"Ah, I figure, Little One's catchy, right?" Nanami joked. "Maybe I'll just name him or her that."

"I am befuddled," Kaoru sighed. "Your behaviour befuddles me."

"Relax," Nanami ordered. "I've got three weeks left to decide."

"So basically, you're going to leave everything to the last minute," he grumbled.

"We used to date and you still don't realize that's what I do?" she giggled. She finished her soup and got up. She gasped and clutched her stomach, grabbing onto the chair for support.

"What? Is it the baby?" Kaoru asked, all in a panic as he rushed to Nanami's side.

"Just Braxton Hicks contractions," Nanami said, brushing him off. "They woke me up last night, but it's nothing. I've been getting them for weeks."

"I'd still like to time them," Kaoru said, leaving Nanami's side to grab the stopwatch he kept in a kitchen drawer.

"Relax Kaoru," Nanami said, righting herself as the contraction passed. "You'd think this was your kid with the way you're acting."

"Well, I have been looking after the Little One for the majority of his or her existence and that's got to count for something, right?"

"I've been meaning to talk to you about this whole parental situation," Nanami said slowly, lowering herself back onto the chair. Kaoru sat across from her.

"What about it?" he asked.

"What are you looking for?" Nanami wondered. "Because I never asked you to do any of this. You've just been doing it out of good conscious. I can start looking for a new apartment for once the baby's born. I'm sure you don't want an eating, pooping and crying machine here in your space."

"Well," Kaoru began. "Now that school is over, I don't need so much quiet time. It wouldn't be a problem for you to stay here until the Little One gets a bit older and you can manage on your own."

"How old is a bit older?" she asked. "I don't want to overstay my welcome."

"To put it quite simply, Nanami, you can stay here as long as you want," Kaoru offered. "Raising a kid on your own, probably not gonna be that easy. I honestly don't mind you living with me permanently. Of course, that's only if you want to," he added.

"Thank you so much Kaoru," Nanami thanked, tears welling in her eyes. "The main reason I'm asking you this is because, well, I'm getting old. I'm almost thirty," she admitted, albeit reluctantly. "I need a job. A real job."

"And?" he prompted when she remained silent.

"I've been looking into going back to school," she said. "I always wanted to be a makeup artist, but after high school I fell in with the wrong crowd and got into the escort business. Maybe it's time I do the responsible thing for once."

"And I'm more than happy to help you in any way I can," Kaoru assured her.

"Thank you," Nanami said, smiling brightly. "And I'll start helping out with rent once I get a steady job."

"Don't worry about it," he insisted. "I'm actually kinda glad to have you around. It gets lonely on your own."

"Don't I know it," Nanami sighed. She stood once again and Kaoru got to his feet beside her. He put a hand on her arm and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. Nanami gasped and looked up at him with curious eyes. Though they were living together, they had both agreed that they were still broken up. Things hadn't ended well between them, what with Kaoru proposing and Nanami taking off. Kaoru himself had expressly told her that there would be no rekindling of their relationship. So what was he doing?

"There's something you should know before deciding to stay here," Kaoru mumbled, their lips so close, they were almost touching and their breaths ghosted over one another's faces. "Nanami Tenoh, I sill –"

What Kaoru had been about to say, Nanami would never know, for at that moment, a gush of liquid fell on their feet and they both blanched in complete and utter surprise.

"Well would you look at that," Nanami said, quite calmly. "It appears as though I'm going to have a baby now."

**XxX**

"Hey Nanami," Haruhi greeted as the entered Nanami's hospital room with her fiancé, Kyouya Ootori, at her heels.

"Good morning, Ms. Tenoh," Kyouya said warmly.

"How are you feeling?" Haruhi asked and she walked over to sit beside Nanami on her bed. Kaoru had been sent on an ice run.

"Alright," Nanami replied. "I got an epidural," she furthered.

"I hear those work wonders," Haruhi chuckled.

"They'd better," Nanami grumbled. "Hurt like a bitch to get it."

"Have you thought of any names yet?" Kyouya asked as he took a seat on a nearby chair.

"Not a one," Nanami sighed. "I'm totally at a loss. How do you just pick something that someone has to live with the rest of their lives? It's stressful."

"I can imagine," Haruhi laughed.

"Maybe if you knew the gender of the baby you wouldn't be having such a hard time," Kyouya teased.

"Shut up, Ootori," Nanami snapped, although she was only being playful. "I'm still not convinced that you're right for Haruhi. We've been friends since diapers, you know. If you hurt her, I will hunt you down and feed your intestines to rabid dogs."

"Just to be safe, are we counting labour as pain that I'm going to put her through?" Kyouya laughed. Nanami shuddered.

"Kyouya, don't tease like that," Haruhi scolded. "I'm sure Nanami's nervous enough as is. She doesn't need any more talk of pain."

"No, it's not that," Nanami interjected. "Just the thought of a bunch of Ootori spawn running free in the world. Imagine the chaos!"

"So you're not nervous at all?" Haruhi wondered, incredulous.

"Not really," she replied. "I'm stuck in a state of all consuming denial. I'm not actually having a baby; I'm simply forcing a cantaloupe through my birth canal."

Just then, Kaoru came into the room with a cup of ice chips.

"Kaoru, you're houseguest is certifiably insane," Kyouya told him.

"Tell me something I don't know," Kaoru laughed.

"Why thank you," Nanami scoffed.

"You boys are going to get yourselves kicked out of here on your asses," Haruhi grumbled.

"How are we doing in here?" asked a young female doctor as she came into the room.

"Annoyed, mostly," Nanami sighed. "And sort of disbelieving."

"Most first time mothers feel that way," the doctor assured her. "But other than the First Time Jitters, you aren't feeling any unusual discomfort, are you?"

"Nope."

"Alright, let's just check how dilated your cervix is," she said. A quick check later and she pulled away smiling.

"You're fully dilated," the doctor announced. "Brace yourself, Ms. Tenoh. You're about to become a mother."

Nanami gulped nervously.

"We're going to bring you over to the emergency room now," the doctor explained. "Is there anyone you want there with you? Usually we only allow family to be present, but given the absence of the father, we can make an exception."

"Haruhi, will you?" Nanami asked quietly.

"Of course," Haruhi agreed.

"You boys can go wait in the waiting room," the doctor told Kyouya and Kaoru as she rolled Nanami's bed out into the hallway and into the delivery room.

**XxX**

"How do you think things are going in there?" Kaoru asked nervously.

"Relax, Kaoru. I'm sure everything's fine," Tamaki said, patting his old friend on the back. Tamaki and Renge had arrived a few minutes after Nanami was taken to the delivery room and Hikaru, who had been held up on a case, arrived shortly after them. The only people from the old gang who couldn't make it were Hunny and Mori who were living in Okinawa, though they were on their way.

"Who thought Kaoru would be the first out of us to have a kid?" Hikaru laughed.

"I'm not having a kid," Kaoru grumbled. "Nanami is."

"Yeah, but you've been looking after her this whole time, and you used to date so I'd say you're at least an honorary father," Hikaru argued.

"What are you going to do once the baby's born?" Renge wondered. "Is Nanami still going to stay with you?"

"We were talking about that this morning, actually," Kaoru said. "She's thinking of going back to school and I told her she was more than welcome to continue staying with me as long as she wants."

"That's good," Kyouya sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, a child needs a strong father figure in their lives. Whether you're biologically the father is irrelevant. I think we all now to varying degrees that blood relations don't automatically equal good parents."

"And she still has no idea what she wants as far as names go?" Renge asked, perplexed. "You can't keep calling him or her Little One for the rest of their life."

"Believe me, Nanami will try," Kaoru chuckled. "She's bad at decision making."

At that moment, the doctor from earlier came into the waiting room and smiled as all faces turned to her expectantly.

"It's a healthy baby girl," she announced. The group erupted in cheers and began to hug one another, giving Kaoru their congratulations.

"Ms. Tenoh is asking for a Mr. Kaoru Hitachiin," she added once the group quieted.

Kaoru stepped forward and the doctor ushered for him to follow her. She led him into a hospital room where Nanami was laying with a little pink blanket held snugly in her arms. The blanked made a sound and Nanami shushed it lovingly. Nanami Tenoh was holding more than just a blanket. She was holding her daughter.

"I'll leave you two alone," Haruhi said, getting up from her seat beside her childhood friend and leaving the room behind the doctor.

"Hey," Kaoru said as he walked to stand beside his… what was she? His ex-girlfriend, his almost-fiancée… his friend?

"Hey," Nanami said, sleepily.

"How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted."

There was a brief pause in which the only sounds were the baby cooing.

"Have you come up with a name yet?" Kaoru wondered.

"How do you feel about Kaori?" Nanami asked.

"Kaori Tenoh," he said experimentally. "It sounds nice, but it's not my opinion that matters." Kaoru nodded his head towards the baby in Nanami's arms.

"Kaori," Nanami said slowly, directing her words to her baby. "Is that your name?"

The baby made a happy sound and yawned contently.

"I think she likes it," Kaoru chuckled.

"Kaori it is then," Nanami agreed. There was another brief silence.

"Hey Kaoru," Nanami began. "What were you going to say earlier, before this whole baby fiasco started?"

"Oh, I was just going to say that I still have a lot of respect for you and that none of this changes anything," he said. Nanami didn't entirely believe him, but she was too tired to press. She yawned and Kaoru gently took Kaori from her.

"Get some rest," he instructed as he placed Kaori in the bassinet beside Nanami's bed. Kaori made a small fussing noise but calmed as Kaoru placed a delicate kiss to the tip of her little nose. He looked over to find Nanami already asleep. He sighed and walked over beside her, smoothing her hair back and kissing her still damp forehead.

"I still love you."


End file.
